“It is only with gratitude that life becomes rich”

The Israeli ambassador to Washington says a ceasefire agreement to end fighting between Israel and Hezbollah could come “within days.” Israel’s security cabinet is set to vote today on a proposed deal. The agreement comes after Israel achieved its stated strategic war aims with Hezbollah and will allow hundreds of thousands of civilians on both sides of the border to return home over time.

In other headline news, special counsel Jack Smith moved yesterday to abandon two criminal cases against Donald Trump. His team emphasized that the move did not reflect on the merit of the cases but recognized that Mr. Trump’s return to the White House will preclude attempts to federally prosecute him.

Ten-year-old calls 911 for help with math

While these stories are dominating the news today, I’d like to point you to three others that you might otherwise miss:

• A ten-year-old boy in Wisconsin called 911 to say that he needed help with his math homework since his family “wasn’t very good at math.” The dispatcher explained that 911 was not the appropriate number to call for such assistance, but then put out a call to see if a deputy was in the area. Deputy Sheriff Chase Mason came to the rescue, helping to solve the boy’s decimal-related math problem.
• A blind man tripped while getting onto a train in England, so a group of travelers helped him to his seat. Once the man sat down, he realized he was missing a shoe which had slipped between the platform and the train. When he panicked, another rider took off his shoe and gave it to the man.
• A seventy-nine-year-old grandmother broke her leg during a hike in Mount Rainier National Park. A group spotted her and called 911, but was told a search-and-rescue team would take five hours to reach their location. Then US Air Force Airman Troy May appeared on the scene and carried the elderly woman down the mountain on his back.

These stories will not reshape the conflict in the Middle East or become a part of American political history. They did not directly affect anyone except the people who were helped and perhaps their immediate families. But how did you feel when you read them?

The sociologist Peter Berger identified “signals of transcendence,” dimensions of our lives that point to realities that transcend us. Among them, he listed our capacities for order, play, hope, morality, and humor.

What if selfless service is another? What if stories of incarnational compassion point us to the supreme gift and Giver of grace?

“A grinning thief walking the golden streets of heaven”

Yesterday we identified our primary reason for giving thanks to God this week: the salvation purchased by his Son on the cross as he paid our debt, died our death, and rose to bring us eternal life.

However, what Jesus did for us twenty centuries ago was just the beginning. Consider some of the ways he is still serving us today:

• He is “interceding for us” right now (Romans 8:34; cf. Hebrews 7:25; 1 John 2:1).
• He is holding us in his omnipotent hand (John 10:28).
• He is healing by his power and grace (cf. Acts 3:6–7).
• He is guiding us by his “yoke” (Matthew 11:28–30).
• He is empowering us to do “all things” (Philippians 4:13).
• He is continuing his earthly ministry through us, his “body” (1 Corinthians 12:27).
• He is preparing our eternal home (John 14:2–3).
• One day, he will take us there (v. 3).

Max Lucado wrote:

It makes me smile to think there’s a grinning thief walking the golden streets of heaven who knows more about grace than a thousand theologians. No one else would have given the thief on the cross a prayer. But in the end, that is all he had. And in the end, that’s all it took.

Mistaking the reflection for the real

I was walking around a lake near our home the other day and noticed the reflection of the surrounding trees on the surface of the water. The question occurred to me: What if somehow I could see only these reflections and not the trees themselves? Like the prisoners in Plato’s cave analogy who can see only their shadows projected on the wall before them, I would believe that these reflections are the entire reality of what we call “trees.”

My question highlights this fact of human finitude: We do not know what we do not know.

Imagine a world in which we were fully aware of all that Jesus is doing for us right now. Would we “give thanks in all circumstances” (1 Thessalonians 5:18)? Would we perpetually “offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving” (Psalm 50:14)? Would every day be Thanksgiving Day?

If not, is it because Jesus has changed? Is it because his continued ministry in our lives is any less real or transforming? Or is it because we have taken his mercy and grace for granted? Since we cannot see him visibly at work, do we fail to credit him for all he does for us every day?

“Yet I will rejoice in the Lᴏʀᴅ”

Seeking to live a life of gratitude positions us to see the hand of Jesus in every dimension of our lives. It then empowers us to find his grace at work even in the hard places of our days. In this way, we discover with Dietrich Bonhoeffer, “It is only with gratitude that life becomes rich.”

One of the most powerful faith statements in all of Scripture is the declaration of the prophet Habakkuk at the end of the book bearing his name:

Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lᴏʀᴅ; I will take joy in the God of my salvation (Habakkuk 3:17–18).

As a result, he can testify:

“God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer’s; he makes me tread on my high places” (v. 19).

Will you tread on your “high places” today?

Tuesday news to know:

• Trump threatens to impose sweeping new tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China on first day in office
• Judge delays resentencing hearing for Menendez brothers
• Thanksgiving winter storms forecasted across the US—here’s where travel could be disrupted
• Iran’s Khamenei calls for death sentence for Israeli leaders
• On this day in 1922: Archaeologists enter tomb of King Tut

*Denison Forum does not necessarily endorse the views expressed in these stories.

Quote for the day:

“We ought to give thanks for all fortune: if it is good, because it is good; if bad, because it works in us patience, humility, and the contempt of this world and the hope of our eternal country.” —C. S. Lewis

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Understanding the difference between productive trust and empty loyalty

Former Rep. Matt Gaetz was always going to be the most difficult of President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet selections to get through the Senate confirmation process. He was nominated under a shroud of investigations by the Department of Justice in 2020 and, more recently, the House Ethics Committee on accusations of illicit drug use, paying for sex—including sex with a minor—and obstruction of government investigations. Gaetz’s conduct gave reason to doubt his worthiness to be the government’s top attorney, despite the charges being dropped in his DOJ case and the House investigation not yet concluded when he had resigned to pursue the AG nomination.

There was some speculation that his nomination was part of why Trump broached the topic of recess appointments last week. Yet, Gaetz was in Washington on Thursday morning, working with Vice President-elect JD Vance to build support for his approval. Eventually, however, it became clear that such approval wasn’t coming.

After the race in Pennsylvania was finally called in favor of Republican Dave McCormick, the GOP will have a fifty-three-seat majority in the Senate, with only fifty votes needed for Trump’s nominations to be approved. Thursday’s conversations confirmed that at least four Republicans were already firm in their opposition, with several more inclined to vote no. Given that no Democrats were expected to vote in Gaetz’s favor, that left intervention from Trump as his only viable path to the position.

Faced with that reality, Gaetz chose to withdraw from consideration, posting on X that:

While the momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition. There is no time to waste on a needlessly protracted Washington scuffle, thus I’ll be withdrawing my name from consideration to serve as Attorney General. Trump’s DOJ must be in place and ready on Day 1.

News broke Thursday evening that Trump has already pivoted to former Florida attorney general Pam Bondi for the cabinet position. So, who is Pam Bondi, and will her path to confirmation be any simpler than that of Gaetz?

Who is Pam Bondi?

Pam Bondi has been a prominent figure in Republican circles for some time now and was elected attorney general in Florida in both 2010 and 2014. After serving the maximum two terms, she left in 2019 to help defend Trump in his first impeachment trial after he was accused of attempting to tie the offer of further military assistance for Ukraine with help in investigating Joe and Hunter Biden.

Bondi then continued her role as part of Trump’s legal team during the 2020 election before leaving to become the chair of the Center for Litigation at the America First Policy Institute, a conservative think tank staffed with several former Trump administration officials. She resumed her role working more closely with Trump in the buildup to the 2024 election and spoke at one of his final rallies earlier this month.

The President-elect said of Bondi,

“For too long, the partisan Department of Justice has been weaponized against me and other Republicans—Not anymore. Pam will refocus the DOJ to its intended purpose of fighting Crime, and Making America Safe Again. I have known Pam for many years — She is smart and tough, and is an AMERICA FIRST Fighter, who will do a terrific job as Attorney General!”

And many of those she will have to convince in order to succeed where Gaetz did not seem to agree with Trump’s assessment.

Will Bondi be approved?

Senator Lindsay Graham (R-SC) predicted that Bondi “will be confirmed quickly because she deserved to be confirmed quickly.” Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO) echoed those sentiments, stating that “She’ll be an incredible Attorney General.” Sen. Tommy Tubberville of Alabama and Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota were similarly effusive in their praise.

And while, as of this writing, the senators who led the charge against Gaetz’s approval have yet to comment, the prevailing opinion seems to be that Bondi will be confirmed. Should that happen, she will become yet another of Trump’s former and current allies to be given a prominent role in his Cabinet.

Of all the qualities that come up most frequently with Trump’s Cabinet picks, loyalty and trust seem to be among the most common. And it’s understandable why he would prize those characteristics, given the opposition he’s faced in the past. Yet, loyalty and trust are only valuable insofar as they enable someone to speak hard truths and be heard.

If Trump surrounds himself with people who will simply tell him what he wants to hear, he is likely to fail as president. However, if he surrounds himself with people who can deliver honest critiques in a way he can trust, he is set up to succeed.

And that same principle applies to each of us as well.

What kind of God are you looking for?

When you think about the inner circle of people who have the most influence on your life, how would you describe them? Are they people who tell you what you want to hear, or people you can trust to tell you what you need to hear?

And, even more importantly, when you go to God for guidance, which of those two outcomes are you most hoping for? Do you want a God that will affirm your desires or a God that will guide you to a life he can bless, even if it requires walking down some paths you would prefer not to tread?

I’m guessing most of us would like to say we want the latter relationship with the Lord, but is that truly reflected in the way you live? Do you surround yourself with people God can use to speak his truth into your life? And do you pray looking for a particular answer, or are you open to whatever the Lord wants to say?

Be honest in how you answer those questions, as there are few people more damaging to lie to than yourself.

So take some time today to ask the Holy Spirit to reveal which is true for you, even—and especially—if you may not want to hear his answer. Then make whatever changes are necessary to build a relationship with him and with others based on productive trust rather than empty loyalty.

Let’s start today.

Friday news to know:

• Iran continues to stockpile near weapons-grade uranium despite international opposition
• International Criminal Court issues arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant
• For a majority of evangelical churches, giving has not kept up with inflation
• How bees are helping African farmers avoid conflict with elephants
• On this day in 1963: President John F. Kennedy is assassinated

*Denison Forum does not necessarily endorse the views expressed in these stories.

Quote of the day:

“If we are full of pride and conceit and ambition and self-seeking and pleasure and the world, there is no room for the Spirit of God, and I believe many a man is praying to God to fill him when he is full already with something else.” —DL Moody

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